11/11/2005
By Crystal C. Bozek
Sentinel & Enterprise
LEOMINSTER — State officials have confirmed that a Johnny Appleseed School employee was diagnosed with a case of Hepatitis A.
But local health officials insist children and faculty are at a very minimal risk of catching the virus.
Hepatitis A, which has symptoms similar to the flu in children, is a contagious viral disease that makes the liver swell.
“We had someone who got ill. … We have a confined case,” Health Director Christopher Knuth said. “If we thought there was a risk to children, we’d be immunizing all of them.”

Knuth said the person sometimes worked in the cafeteria, but did not handle food.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Sentinel & Enterprise she’s still not sure how she caught the virus.
“I’m just guessing it could have came from one of the kids, or it could be a place I ate at,” she said. “No one gave a diagnosis. It could have been someone I shook hands with that gave it to me, or even bad seafood.”
The school worker started seeing symptoms on Oct. 26, and was hospitalized on Oct. 30 for five days.
She’s not allowed back in school for at least another week, for fear of suffering a relapse.
Cafeteria workers, however, were still given immune globulin (IG), which partially protects people from the virus, for precautionary measures by last Friday.
“We’re following protocol set by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health,” Knuth said.
He said concerned parents or faculty members can consult personal physicians on whether they should receive a Hepatitis A immunization.
City officials called the state within minutes of hearing about the school worker, and have since sent letters home notifying parents, he said.
Knuth said good hand washing is the number one defense against the transfer of any communicable disease.
James Burns, vice principal at Johnny Appleseed, would not comment on the matter, referring all phone calls to the Board of Health.
“They’re handling it,” he said.
Hepatitis A virus is most likely to spread when people do not wash their hands after using the toilet or changing a diaper, and then touch their own mouth or prepare food for others, according to the Center for Disease Control.
Most infections result from contact with a household member or sex partner who has hepatitis A.
Casual contact, as in the usual office, factory, or school setting, does not spread the virus.
When the school worker first was notified of her hepatitis A, she couldn’t believe it.
“I flipped out,” she said. “I thought, ‘Oh my.’ I thought it was the needle one (Hepatitis C). I don’t even sit down on toilet bowls when we go places. That’s how I was brought up.”
Knuth said he caught Hepatitis A in 1978 from bad shellfish.
Symptoms may include fever, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal discomfort, dark urine, and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes).
They usually last less than two months, with only a few people falling ill for as long as six months.
Most people stop being contagious one week after their symptoms start.